Nitish Kumar Reddy became the youngest centurion after Sachin Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant in Australia. Here's everything you need to know about Nitish's father, Mutyala's sacrifices.
Nitish Kumar Reddy is leading all the headlines at the moment after he smashed a cracking century against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The 21-year-old became the youngest centurion after Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and Rishabh Pant to score a century against Australia. Not only this, but he also broke Anil Kumble's record for the highest score, 87, by an Indian player in Australia at the No. 8 or lower position.
With 10 fours and one six, Nitish Kumar Reddy has brought India right into the fourth Test against Australia. After completing his century, Nitish Kumar Reddy got down on one knee and placed his helmet on top of his bat while saluting the heavens. Courtesy of his incredible maiden century, a crowd of close to 80000 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground stood on their feet to applaud the 21-year-old Indian batter.
With such a scintillating performance against the in-form Australia, Nitish Kumar Reddy has added his name to the history books. What's even more special is the fact that Nitish Kumar Reddy's father, Mutyala was also present in the stadium and was spotted in tears while celebrating the Indian fans.
The pictures and clips of the same are doing rounds on the internet at the moment as everyone is lauding the doting father, Mutyala Reddy, for everything he had done for his son, Nitish Kumar Reddy. For the uninitiated, the young cricketer's coach, Kumar Swamy, in an interview with the Indian Express, clearly stated that the hero in Nitish Kumar's success story is his father. He said:
"Everyone wants to be a hero in their cinema, but when it comes to Nitish's story, Mutyala is the hero. It is his father's hard work which fuels Nitish to achieve something in life. He witnessed everything his father had undergone."
Talking about the sacrifices, Nitish Kumar Reddy's father, Mutyala Reddy, left his good-paying job at Hindustan Zinc back in 2016 in order to support his son in his dream of becoming a cricketer. After leaving his job, Mutyala used to take Nitish to his cricket practices, and the doting father also spent many sleepless nights without any food. It was a difficult phase for Mutyala, but he never told his son about these hardships. As per some reports, Mutyala suffered heavily due to the financial crisis, but he still managed to provide Nitish Kumar with proper cricket training.
In an interview with BCCI TV, Nitish Kumar Reddy opened up about his father, Mutyala Reddy's struggle. The cricketer admitted that he wasn't quite serious about cricket during the initial phase of his training. However, one day, he saw his father crying due to a financial crisis, and it was at that particular moment that he got serious about cricket. Recalling the same, he said:
"To be honest, I was not that serious when I was young. My father left his job for me. There has been lots of sacrifice in my story. One day I saw him crying due to financial problems he had, and it felt like I had to do the hard work. Like, your father did this sacrifice and you are just enjoying cricket by playing it for fun. So that time, I took it seriously and suddenly in one year, I got the growth, did the hard work and it paid off."
Another interesting fact about Nitish Kumar Reddy's struggle story is that Andhra Cricket Management spent Rs. 15,000 per month on his development. It's incredible how such a small amount of money gave Indian cricket its next big thing. For the uninitiated, Nitish Kumar Reddy was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for just Rs. 20 lakhs in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL).
We hope Nitish Kumar Reddy continues to shine for India for years to come.
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